Fire extinguisher



Nov. 13, 1928. 1 1,691,041

A. c. BADGER FIRE EXTINGUI SHER Filed Aug. 20, 1925 .jfm/eiziwv 7472710? 6% Patented Nov. 13, 1928.

UNITED STATES I 1,691,041 PATENT OFFICE.

I mums. c. BADGER, or NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

m-nxrmemsimn.

Application am August 20, 1925. Serial m. 51,318.

The present invention relates to fire extinguishers of the type whichcontain a charge of liquid adapted to extinguish fires, together withmeans for causing a gas to be liberated and applied upon the liquidcharge at the moment of use. Its main object is to furnish a fireextinguisher in which the source of gas. pressure for expelling thecharge is a confined body of liquefied or highly compressed gas in aninner cartridge or shell of such construction that escape of theconfined gas is made impossible, together with means for conducting thegas when liberated from the cartridge, and when the extinguisher as awhole is inverted, to the upper surface of the liquid charge withoutmingling with the liquid; and to furnish a compact and efiicientportable extinguisher having certain novel and improved characteristics,as will appear from the following specification.

The embodiment of the present invention shown herein contains subjectmatter or1g1- nally disclosed in my pending application for fireextinguishers, filed October 31, 1924,.

- compressed gas cartridge which I prefer to use with this extinguisher;

Figure 5 is an elevation showing, 1n detail, a latch provided to holdthe cartridgepiercing plunger in a certain position.

Like reference characters designate the same parts wherever they occurin all the figures. v

The shell of the extinguisher consists of a head 11, which for thepurposes of this description may be called the upper head, because it isshown in the drawing as uppermost, a tubular section 12 and a secondhead 13, which may be called the lower head or bottom. The head 11 ispreferably made as a castin of any suitable metal; that is a metal w ichcan be cast and is not readily subject tocorrosioif. I prefer to usecopper,

- brass, or bronze, but may use other metal if desired. This head ispreferably circular mend view and is formed with a cylindrical skirtportion 14 and anintegral inner cylindrical partition 15 having a bottomflange 16 and so arranged as to delimit an innercompartment chamber-orpocket in which the gas cartridge 17 is'placed; In the specificillustration here given, which is that of a small extinguisher capableof being grasped around the body with one hand, the part tion 15 iseccentric to the head and substantially tangent to one side thereof, butthis is a. detail which although here claimed as a novel and valuablefeature, may be departed from without departure from other aspects ofthe invention.

The walls of the inner compartment are extended to form a neck 18, theinterior of which is at least as large as any other part of thecompartment; and the neck is externally threaded to take a cap'19, suchcap having a lip which embraces the neck and being formed to confine andpress a packing washer 20 against the end of the neck.

The part 12 of the casing is a tube, which may be a seamless drawn tubeor one made of rolled sheet metal. Such tube embraces the skirt part 14of the head 11 and is indented at 21, 21 into encircling grooves formedin outer surface of said skirt portion, whereby these members aresecurely united together. .They may be soldered or brazed, or otherwisehermetically joined together, in addition. The bottom head 13 ispreferably made as a cup-shape member drawn from sheet metal which isinserted into the lower end of the tube and secured thereto by aninwardly rolled encircling head or roove 23. Both the tubular part andthe bottom head may be made of any metal or other material suitable forfire extinguisher construction.

I he cartridge 17, which is' preferably cylindrical in form, is enoughsmaller in diameter than the above described chamber to permit of easyinsertion thereinto and also to permit the gas, when released, to flowbetween its outer surfaces and the walls of the chamber. There is a holein the bottom 16 of this chamber in which is inserted,- preferably bybeing screwed in, one end of a tube 24. Shoulders or seating ledges 25are provided on the upper side of the bottom 16 to en port the cartrid 0'with open s aces throug which gas may reely flow to e tube 24.

' The cartridge is a tube or bottle of any desired form with integralwalls completely enclosing the charge of gas. It is constructed, filled,and closed essentially in the manner described in my application SerialNo. 747,010 aforesaid, and in my previous application Serial No. 692,468filed February 13, 1924, entitled Method of and apparatus for creatingabnormal ressures in and sealing hollow bodies. T at is it consistsessentially ofa body part and an end wall or head which are unitedautogenously by electric welding into an integral unit structure afterthe body has been filled with compressed or liquefied gas, and while thefilling charge is under pressure. The line 26 in Figure 4 represents thewelded union between the body and head, but this union may be located atother points than that indicated, and the cartridge as a whole may bemade of other forms. The material which I have used in making suchcartridges and prefer, is steel.

1 The charge contained in the cartridge may be carbon dioxide, air, orany other gas, either liquefied and under pressure, or compressed butnot liquefied. Whenever "in the present specification I speak of thecontents of such a cartridge as being gas, I intend to include liquefiedgases as wel1 as those 1n the gaseous state. Thus in this specificationthe term gas so used means substances which are gases at ordinarytemperatures and atmospheric pressure regardless of whether or not theyare in the liquid state when confined under pressure in the cartridge.

A portion of one head of the cartridge 1s made with less thicknessthanthe walls elsewhere, as shown at 27 in Figure 4, in order that. itmay be readily punctured by a piercing tool, but the area of thisportion is made so small that, ,in spite of its reduced thickness, ithas suflicient strength to withstand the pressure of the confined gasand not be ruptured thereby.

In the cap 19 is a passage through which extends a plunger 28 having aninner end portion 29 of reduced diameter, pointed at its extremity. Suchreduced portion, except for its terminal point, is cylindrical and of anarea in cross section somewhat smaller than the area of reducedthickness in the cartridge head, and of a length great enough to passthrough such head. In one side of this reducedportion is a narrow andshallow groove 30 of proper length and properly positioned to lie partlywithin and partly outside'of the cartridge, and

thus form a restricted channel for conducting gas out of the cartridgewhen the piercing toolthus penetrates suchhead. On the outer end of theplunger 28 is secured a knob 31 having a latching abutment formedpreferably as a surrounding flange or lip 32. Such plunger or piercintool is a means for opening the cartri ge; that rs,

vfor releasing the agent which causes pressure to be exerted on theextinguishing charge. On the side of the cap is secured a spring latch33 adapted to hook over the lip 32 and having an inclined guide por-.

as a bail 38, is connected to the cap by pivotscrews 39, and normallyextends over the knob 31 to, prevent the same from being struck andpushed inward accidentally, but

is movable aside from that position to an inoperative position, topermit of the plunger being intentionally moved inward. This bail ispreferably made of a sheet metal strip bent into U-shape, having astifiening rib in its bentportion, and with indented ofl'sets 40adjacent to the pivots adapted to enter sockets in the adjacent part ofthe ca Such oilsets hold the bail in either its guar ing position or inits inoperative position with some firmness, but yield to permit itsdisplacement from one position to another by application of suflicientforce.v

There is formed in a part of the head ll an enclosed outlet passage 41having an external orifice which is threaded to receive a coupling 42 bywhich an eduction hose 42 is made fast. A transverse passage crossingthe passage 41 opens into the interior of the head and its outer end issurrounded by a lip 44. A valve devise is detachably secured in saidtransverse passage. Such valve device, in the form here shown, comprisesa 'cap or plug 45' adapted to screw into the lip 44, and in which isscrewed one end of a valve casing 46 having a longitudinal passageterminating in an inner or end orifice or port surrounded by a valveseat 47, and having both a lateral orifice or port .48 adapted toregister with the pas-- sage 41and an external groove in the same zonewith port 48 to make a flow connection with the passage in case the portshould not register with it when plug 45 is screwed in tightly; A ballvalve 49 is contained in the casing 46 and is pressed against the seat47 by a 5 ring 50 reacting against the cap 45.' A strainer 51 is securedto. the irmer end of the valve casing across the inner orifice thereof.Packings 52 and 53, placed substantially as shown in Fig. I, preventleakage around the parts of the valve device to either the outletpassage 41 or the outside of the casing. This valve device may bereadily applied-and removed as a whole, and its parts may bedisassembled upon unscrewing the casing member 46 from the cap 45. Othermeans than screw threads .may of course be used to connect the arts ofthe device together and to secure tie device in the head. Thisspring-loaded valve prevents accidental slopping or leaking of theliquid charge out of the casing, but yields and allows expulsion of thecharge under the pressure of the gas applied when the extinguisher is tobe used.

The extinguisher is charged, ready to be used, by filling the casing orshell with, suitable liquid. Such liquid may be water, or a non-freezingsolution of salt in water, or any other liquid which is not inflammableand may be volatile, such as carbon tetrachloride. In order thus tocharge the ex tinguisher the valve device is removed and the liquid mayeither be poured into the opening left thereby, or through the neck 18,the cap 19 being removed and the opening for the valve device thenserving as a vent for escape of air. A gas cartridge 17 is placed in thechamber enclosed by thepartitlon 15. This may be done either before orafter filling the main body of the extinguisher with liquid. The caparid valve are then put inplace and made tight.

It will be understood that the gas cartridge used will be of suchlength, in proportion to the length of the chamber which receives it andto the length and possible movement of the piercing projection 29, thatitsupper head will lie so near the piercin )IOjGCtlOIl that the lattermay penetrate such head to the required depth, when pushed inward, butwill not be forced through the head by the screwing down of the cap; and

the weakened area 27 is located inthe part of said upper head which thencomes in line with the piercing projection. Preferably a spring 54 isinserted between the gas cars tridge and the cap to prevent thecartridge being thrown against the piercing point and accidentallypunctured by rough handling or knocking about of the extinguisher.

This spring is preferably a helix, the internal diameter of which islarger than the plunger 29, and is centered by surrounding '55 on theinner end of the cap through pivots to expose the -.aside from the aboveat its upper end a tubular guiding extension extinguisher and.-

the as. uch channel ma be made of any epth and width desired to permitre-.

lease of the. char e ofgas at any desired.

rate of speed. he' escaping gas passes through the clearance spacebetween the cartridge and the surrounding walls, and

through the liquid without mingling therewith, and its pressure isapplied directly on thesurface of .the liquid. The valve 49 preventsescape of the liquid until such pressure is applied, and then it yieldsand permits flow of the liquid in a forcible stream. 7 1

While I have shown and described the embodiment of this inventionwhichseems preferable at the present time,.it should be understood thatvarious changes in the details of construction may bemade withoutdeparture from the spirit of the invention or the protection which Iclaim.

What I, claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: i

1. A fire extin isher comprising :1 casing adapted to h dld a fireextinguishing charge and having an inner compartment near one end,opening throug such end, and adapted to hold a cartridge, a closure forthe open end ofsaid compartment, a

.plunger'movably mounted in said closure a guard member embracing andthrough the tube 24. It is thus conducted plunger, and adapted to beturned about its 9 plunger for application of force to move it inward.

2. In a fire extinguisher having a, car I tridge-opening plunger, aguard pivotally mounted on sa1d extinguisher at opposite sides of saidplunger to extend across the outer end thereof, said guard being movablev named 3; In a fire extinguisher trid e-opening pllun r projectinexternally oft e extinguis er or operation y external engagement,.aguard comprising essentially,

plosit on.

aving a cara bail pivotedto the extinguisher and adapted to occupy aposition in which it sq embraces and crosses the outer end of saidplunger as to prevent accidental operation thereof, and another positionin which it lies at one side of the Inn r.

4. In a fire extinguisher having a car-.

tridge-opening pllalnlg ,a bail pivoted to the to occupy a position inwhich it embraces and crosses the outer end of said plunger, and anotherposition in which it lies at one side of the plunger, said bail havingflat end portions pivoted at opposite sides of the plunger and formedwith offset projections adapted to I occupy cavities in the adjacentsurfaces of the extinguisher body.

5. A fire extinguisher comprising an outer shell or casing adapted tohold a liquid charge, said shell having at one end a head formed with anintegral inner partition,

which partition encloses a chamber adapted.

to receive a cartridge and being open at one end, said head having adischarge outlet from the space outside of said partition at' a pointadjacent to the junction of the par- -tition with the head, a cartridgecontainthe open end of said chamber, and a cartridge puncturing plungermounted in the cap and movable through the same.

6; A fire extinguisher comprising an outer shell or casing adapted tohold a liquid charge, said shell having at one end a head provided witha discharge outlet at the same end, and formed with an integral innerpartition, which partition encloses a chamber adapted-to receive acartridge and being open atone end, a cartridge containing in compressedcondition a substance which is a gas at ordinary temperature, saidcartridge having impervious and integrally continuous walls throughoutits whole extent and being formed toleave a space for flow of gasbetween itself and the walls of said chamber, a tube extending from thebottom of said chamber toward the opposite end of the shell mounteddetachably on the open end of said chamber, and a cartridge puncturingplunger mounted in the cap and movable through the same, said plungerhaving a puncturing extremity of reduced diameter adapted to passthrough the adjacent wall of the cartridge and formed with a channel inone side.

7 A fire. extinguisher comprising a shell adapted to be grasped in aersons hand,

said shell having at one en -a head provided with an eccentric cartridgechamber close to one'side of the shell and an entrance opening in linewith the cartridge chamsignature.

her, the head having also a discharge outlet opening from the spaceoutside of the car-- tridge chamber at the same end,'a tube running fromthe bottom of the cartridge chamber toward the opposite end of the shelland opening adjacent to said opposite end, a structurally separatecartridge occupying said chamber loosely enough to permit free passageof its contents between its outer surfaces and the enveloping walls ofsaid chamber, a cap detachably mounted on the said entrance, and aplunger mounted in said cap with provision for endwise movement andhaving an inner puncturing end adapted to puncture the adjacent end wallof said cartridge to release the contents thereof.

. 8. A fireextinguisher comprising a shell havin a head at one endprovided with a partitlon forming an interior cartridge receivingchamber, and having an open ended inlet in line with said chamber and ahole outside of said chamber, the head being also formed with a lateraldischarge passage opening into one side of said hole, a cartridgedetachably and loosely occupying said chamber, a detachable cap for saidinlet,

a cartridge puncturing plunger movably mounted in said cap, and a secondcap ,detachably mounted upon the head across said hole and having avalve chamber occupying the hole and containing a port in communicationwith said discharge passage, a valve seat between said'port and theinterior ofthe shell, and a spring loaded valve cooperating with saidseat and adapted to be displaced therefrom by pressure developed withinthe shell.

-9. A fire extinguisher comprising a shell having an interior cartridgereceiving chamber and an inlet to saidchamber in line therewith andconstructed to permit entrance thereinto of a cartridge containing acompressed charge of gas, a cap detachably and tightly closing saidentrance, means for puncturing the cartridge in said chamber to releasethe compressed aseous charge thereof, said shell having a ing hole atone end and an enclosed outlet passage opening from the side of saidhole, a detachable cap for said hole, a valve chamberearried by said capfilling the hole when the cap is in place and having ports openingrespectively into the interior of the extinguisher and into saiddischarge passage, 9. valvein said casing between said ports, and aspring arranged to seat said valve over the port which opens into theextinguisher.

In testimony whereof have aflixed my ARTHUR o. BADGER.

